cheap Sinclair

[DirtyDave]

From this weeks wrestling observer newsletter, found at http://www.wrestlingobserver.com (worth subscribing to for sure!)...

There are a lot of financial issues with the company which basically involve Sinclair not getting more behind it. Joe Koff met with the head guys at Sinclair in December, and pitched them hard to expand the budget in 2015 and 2016, pushing that they could become the No. 2 wrestling company in the country.
The Briscoes and Adam Cole were also brought to the meeting and did pro wrestling promos pitching that they could become the No. 2 promotion in the country with TNA losing steam with its move to Destination America.
Unfortunately, the pitch failed.
It also hurt that the second PPV in December only did 8,000 buys, which was said to be under projections but not greatly under projections. Sinclair told them to be more disciplined in spending in 2015 and the feeling is they want ROH for consistent programming but are not looking at investing strongly into it nor taking chances to build it. That’s what led to questions about future iPPVs because the cost of refunds have been high due to misfires, and cutting back on the New Japan joint shows as far less wrestlers at this point are scheduled to be brought in.

[Northwoods_Nightmare]

It was readily apparent that they were putting a lot more money into the product last year than in the 3 years prior, and I think that most of ROH's growth and improvements in an awesome 2014 were the result of that. Hopefully, even if they weren't able to expand their budget, they didn't have to face too many cuts.
On the flipside, depending on how the upcoming PPV's do, it doesn't make business sense to keep spending big money if it's not profitable in the long run. Hopefully they have the guts to stick things out in some regards since sometimes it just takes a little time rather than everything being an instant success.

It would be nice to get some consistency throughout the next year. They've tried so many different things regarding PPV, iPPV, VOD, etc. switching back and forth in the last year, it's sometimes hard for even hardcore fans to stay engaged with how to watch and having faith in what we're buying. If ROH can't make up their mind about what their presenting, how should we? If they can find a format that's dependable and show a commitment to delivering a consistent product with a focus on quality (whatever that chosen format may be), I think that would go a long way.

[monster mafia]

[DXvsNWO1994]

It seems like Sinclair sees ROH simply as programming for their stations. Not sure what else to say at the moment. Sucks that Sinclair doesn't see more in ROH.

[Northwoods_Nightmare]

It seems like Sinclair sees ROH simply as programming for their stations. Not sure what else to say at the moment. Sucks that Sinclair doesn't see more in ROH.

On one hand it sucks. But on the optimistic side ROH isn't in any real danger of closing and has really grown into much more than a privately owned company probably could. Without SBG, I don't know if you would be able to say the same thing. That's just the nature of being part of a large company I guess.

[BigTChamp]

Does anyone know if the money they're making from syndication all gets retained by ROH or just goes back to Sinclair? I mean, I'm sure its not much but if they could build up a network of say 20 non Sinclair stations each paying a couple hundred bucks per episode, that's not insignificant, even before you factor in the increased eyeballs on the product buying ppv/tickets/merch.

[WHG]

SBG is definitely a blessing and a curse. Although as a fan I would love for ROH to spend a ton of money and make big moves, Sinclair is like the financial conscience that prevents my favorite wrestling company (which I quite enjoy as is) from running itself out of business making stupid vanity moves and taking poorly calculated risks.

Even in this report, as much as I love that Joe Koff (who I used to view as one of the SBG suits that didn't really want ROH to be more than it was) is excited about the company and is pushing for growth, the reality is that being the #2 wrestling promotion in the US is financially meaningless. They need to stay focused on making incremental steps in their own space with small, solid risks along the way to grow the product.

It does appear that they kind of need a guiding strategy and vision, though.

One last thought...anyone else think this could be a bit of a planted story to cool the talent down? As the company was moving to PPV, making licensing deals, signing key guys like Fish & O'Reilly & reportedly Cole (although not sure if that's actually signed) to bigger money exclusive contracts, and using vets like Styles, Sydal, Kaz, Daniels, etc... it's easy to imagine everyone lining up as deals expire looking for more money. That appears is what happened with Bennett & Maria.

Not saying the report isn't true, but there are a lot of signs early In the year that they're still pushing to grow and are willing to spend. They may just be putting the breaks on their new contracts and looking for ways to get the talent (who all read Meltzer) to see that the company isn't suddenly rolling in extra cash.

[Burnside]

SBG is definitely a blessing and a curse. Although as a fan I would love for ROH to spend a ton of money and make big moves, Sinclair is like the financial conscience that prevents my favorite wrestling company (which I quite enjoy as is) from running itself out of business making stupid vanity moves and taking poorly calculated risks.

Totally agree.

If I had to change one thing to help ROH, instead of a big budget increase I would bring in a booker with more interesting and compelling ideas.

[BigTChamp]

Totally agree.

If I had to change one thing to help ROH, instead of a big budget increase I would bring in a booker with more interesting and compelling ideas.

I kinda agree with this.. I'm not quite ready to call for Delirious's head just yet because he's given us a lot of great stuff and it's not like the booking is BAD, but there definitely hasn't been that red hot angle in a couple years, and there's several acts (Ciampa, Decade and Addiction come to mind) who looked like they were at the start of something strong and are kind of spinning in circles creatively right now. At the least an assistant or co-booker with some fresh ideas should join Delirious.

[AssShooter]

idzikisawful ‏@Mjtoosexayy
@ringofhonor @realkevinkelly if you guys had briscoes and cole cut a promo in a major meeting with Sinclair execs, you're all amateur hour.

Kevin Kelly ‏@realkevinkelly
.@Mjtoosexayy @ringofhonor Sounds ridiculous to you too. It never happened but @davemeltzerWON has the scoop.

[YimYac]

I'm going to side with Kevin Kelly here that report doesn't sound remotely true.

It's pretty clear ROH has had a huge budget increase since the start of 2014 with all the names they are bringing in, new markets further out west, and the New Japan shows. ROH bringing in Cole and the Briscoes to cut promos for the top people of Sinclair sounds completely ridiculous.

[Smile]

I'm not buying it at all.

[DirtyDave]

what to you expect kevin kelly to say?

"yes Sinclair is run by cheap bastards?"
or
"roh won't be as hot in 2015 due to budget limitations"

[WHG]

He'd likely just not respond, which is what 99% of the representatives of any company do when asked random twitter questions on topics that can't or don't want to answer. I don't think he'd flat out say that never happened if it had. In fact, the prior day he gave someone a more unsure answer just saying it didn't sound likely.

I love Meltzer and think he gets too much shit from people for being wrong about things he's not, but he's writing about a million things and has mischaracterized some things before or stated something as a fact when it's not true. A good example is what he said about the March PPV. He said it was scheduled for the Orleans Arena, which holds 9,500 but will be set up for 1,000. The reality is that the event has always been scheduled for the Orleans Casino's Mardi Gras Ballroom, which is a completely different space with no fixed seating.

I think on the non-WWE or UFC promotions he gathers as many facts as he can quickly get and then connects the dots with assumptions on the rest. He's right most of the time, but you do see instances where he says stuff that's just not true.

[Burnside]

He'd likely just not respond, which is what 99% of the representatives of any company do when asked random twitter questions on topics that can't or don't want to answer. I don't think he'd flat out say that never happened if it had. In fact, the prior day he gave someone a more unsure answer just saying it didn't sound likely.

I love Meltzer and think he gets too much shit from people for being wrong about things he's not, but he's writing about a million things and has mischaracterized some things before or stated something as a fact when it's not true. A good example is what he said about the March PPV. He said it was scheduled for the Orleans Arena, which holds 9,500 but will be set up for 1,000. The reality is that the event has always been scheduled for the Orleans Casino's Mardi Gras Ballroom, which is a completely different space with no fixed seating.

I think on the non-WWE or UFC promotions he gathers as many facts as he can quickly get and then connects the dots with assumptions on the rest. He's right most of the time, but you do see instances where he says stuff that's just not true.

The thing is, the truth is probably something like, "Of course we didn't bring Adam Cole and Jay Briscoe to the meeting to have them cut promos asking to make us number two! No. We pre-taped those promos and played the videos at the meeting." Which in reality is just splitting hairs because it makes it seem like the whole story is false when Meltzer got a detail wrong. That is what is very often the case when industry people call Dave out for his "inaccuracies."

Having said that, it's true Dave is sloppier with ROH and doesn't give it the attention it probably warrants. I bet his readership's interest in ROH is higher than his coverage of it would suggest.

[MooseNugget]

Yeah I got a year long subscription to The Wrestling Observer last month and I'm disappointed at how little is said about ROH.

[YimYac]

He'd likely just not respond, which is what 99% of the representatives of any company do when asked random twitter questions on topics that can't or don't want to answer. I don't think he'd flat out say that never happened if it had. In fact, the prior day he gave someone a more unsure answer just saying it didn't sound likely.

I love Meltzer and think he gets too much shit from people for being wrong about things he's not, but he's writing about a million things and has mischaracterized some things before or stated something as a fact when it's not true. A good example is what he said about the March PPV. He said it was scheduled for the Orleans Arena, which holds 9,500 but will be set up for 1,000. The reality is that the event has always been scheduled for the Orleans Casino's Mardi Gras Ballroom, which is a completely different space with no fixed seating.

I think on the non-WWE or UFC promotions he gathers as many facts as he can quickly get and then connects the dots with assumptions on the rest. He's right most of the time, but you do see instances where he says stuff that's just not true.

The thing is, the truth is probably something like, "Of course we didn't bring Adam Cole and Jay Briscoe to the meeting to have them cut promos asking to make us number two! No. We pre-taped those promos and played the videos at the meeting." Which in reality is just splitting hairs because it makes it seem like the whole story is false when Meltzer got a detail wrong. That is what is very often the case when industry people call Dave out for his "inaccuracies."

Having said that, it's true Dave is sloppier with ROH and doesn't give it the attention it probably warrants. I bet his readership's interest in ROH is higher than his coverage of it would suggest.

I just find a hard time believing ROH's solution to getting more money from SBG (as I said before it's clear the budget has been increased greatly based off last year) was playing promos for the head guys of Sinclair.

Maybe it's possible a video package showing off ROH was played maybe and Meltzer interpreted that as they brought in guys to do promos.

[Marketh.]

I think if that really happened, the money would end up invested in a Briscoes reality show than ROH.

[DBSommer]

I think if that really happened, the money would end up invested in a Briscoes reality show than ROH.

Wouldn't a Briscoes reality show just be running all their promos together?

With that being said, over the last couple of years it feels like ROH has grown as a product. Hardly flawless, but overall moving in the right direction. I can't see that happening without some decent SBG backing.

[WHG]

For what it's worth, ROH has two active job postings which were both posted in mid-January. One for an Associate Producer (cameras, editing, etc...) and the other for a Marketing Manager. I'm almost certain the marketing role is new, so it's indicative that SBG is indeed putting at least some additional resources behind the company. As someone who works for a publicly traded company, trust me when I tell you that additional headcount is one of the most debated financial decisions a company makes in the budgeting process.

I found the aspects of the role interesting to see as it gives a window into what they're looking for in terms of growth. See the full job description below...

This will be an important hire. I hope they find someone good.

Marketing Manager
Tracking Code
2847
Job Description
Make your mark in Broadcasting. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the nation, programming 162 stations located in 79 geographically diverse markets after pending transactions. Our success is the result of extraordinary employees and an exemplary management team who believes in a vision and is dedicated to making Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc a communications powerhouse. We are advancing the world of Broadcasting and we want YOU to join our winning team.

Ring of Honor Wrestling is looking to add an experienced marketing professional to our team as we grow into the future as the best wrestling on the planet.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Identifying target market opportunities and developing strategies to capitalize on them, while analyzing the performance of each initiative.
Manage local marketing initiatives for live ROH events
Developing PR initiatives and ensure that all public materials are accurate and effectively achieve their purpose.
Supervise and approve all usage of the Brand while executing plans to increase Brand Awareness and Equity.
Analyze Sales and Market data to provide reports on Brand Strength and its development.
Manage and develop social media and web strategies to maximize fan engagement and receipt of all ROH content and information.
Pursue licensing deals to generate significant revenue streams and/or brand awareness.
Identify and pursue sales opportunities to improve and create various revenue streams including advertising, memberships, sponsorships, etc.

Key Requirements:

Bachelor Science in Marketing, Business, or related field
5-7 Years of experience in Marketing, with preference of a Television, Sports, or Entertainment focus.
Proficiency in Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and Outlook
Ability to Collaborate with others to maximize creativity and quality of work.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace!
Job Location
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Position Type
Full-Time/Regular